Semiconductor devices such as multiple semiconductor integrated circuits formed on a semiconductor wafer undergo an electrical test in a semiconductor wafer state to determine whether or not they are manufactured in accordance with a specification before being separated into respective chips. In this electrical test with use of the semiconductor wafer as a device under test, a probe card is used in general to electrically connect a tester to the device under test.
An example of this probe card includes a connection base plate and multiple bar-like so-to-speak vertical probes connected to conductive paths of the connection base plate. As for the respective probes, in a state in which connection end portions thereof to the connection base plate are arrayed by a holding means holding the multiple probes, the connection end portions are connected to corresponding connection pads of the connection base plate by solder, for example (for example, refer to Patent Literature 1).
Prior to soldering of the connection end portions of the multiple probes held in this holding means to the corresponding connection pads, the holding means holding these probes and the connection base plate on which the connection pads are provided need to be aligned with each other appropriately so that the connection end portions of the respective probes may be located on the corresponding connection pads appropriately.
In general, for this alignment, the connection base plate is provided with a guide pin projecting toward the holding means while the holding means is provided with a guide hole adapted to receive the guide pin. These guide pin and guide hole are designed at the time of designing of the connection base plate and the holding means so as to be located at appropriate positions. However, when the holding means is made of a non-metallic hard material such as a ceramic plate, a problem occurs in enhancement of process accuracy of the guide hole. Accordingly, even in a case where the connection base plate and the holding means are combined so that the guide pin of the connection base plate and the guide hole of the holding means such as the ceramic plate may be aligned, mainly a process error of the guide hole may cause another relative fine adjustment on a plane to be required so that all the connection pads on the connection base plate and the connection end portions of the corresponding probes held in the holding means may be aligned appropriately.
Especially, when the number of probes in a probe base plate increases along with an increase in the degree of integration of the integrated circuit, it is not easy to do adjustment appropriately by human hand so that all the probes and the connection pads may be aligned, and the manual fine adjustment requires skill.